bad

Where does the word "bad" come from? It comes from Old English bæddel, passing through Middle English before entering English (1900s).

Bad’s story begins in Old English: bæddel meant “effeminate man (insult).” A derogatory word for an effeminate man, the most-cited possible source, though scholars dispute the link and 'bad' has no clear relatives in other languages. By 1200s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as badde. 'wicked, worthless'; for centuries it was rarer than 'evil' and 'ill'. It reached English by 1900s as bad. Turned upside down in African-American slang, from the 1890s, to mean 'excellent', a sense popularised by jazz musicians in the 1920s. Today, bad means of poor quality; wicked; harmful.

1. Stage 1 · Old English · medieval bæddel "effeminate man (insult)", a derogatory word for an effeminate man, the most-cited possible source, though scholars dispute the link and 'bad' has no clear relatives in other languages.
2. Stage 2 · Middle English · 1200s badde "wicked", 'wicked, worthless'; for centuries it was rarer than 'evil' and 'ill'.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1900s bad "poor quality; wicked; (slang) excellent", turned upside down in African-American slang, from the 1890s, to mean 'excellent', a sense popularised by jazz musicians in the 1920s.